Residents stand on the street following an earthquake in Kumamoto city on April 14, 2016.
The strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 9:26 pm (1226 GMT) in Kumamoto, central Kyushu at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. AFP/Getty Images

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 has struck southern Japan, causing some damage - although there was no danger of a tsunami.

Keisukei Urata, an official at Uki city, said he was driving home when the quake struck in the nearby town of Mashiki in Kumamoto prefecture.